


Home

by TrashFamBam



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animals, Cute, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, and Levi being Levi, farm au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-01 10:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2769902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFamBam/pseuds/TrashFamBam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somewhere in the big, busy city a trio of kittens were abandoned. Starving and cold they only looked to each other for comfort, until a human came along and took them home. Now things are going to change for them; their new life on this farm is just about to begin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Home

“ _Come on! We’re hungry‼_ ”

The squeaky call was immediately responded to with a violent hiss, echoing out of the large rubbish bin.

“ _You could be helping me instead of just standing there!_ ”

“ _I can’t leave him out here alone! It’s raining‼_ ”

A sleek black head popped out of the bin, silver eyes looking down at the ground beneath her, “ _There isn’t anything to eat in here anyway._ ”

Three tiny tummies rumbled at the prospect of the meal being lost on them again. With ease the black kitten pulled herself out of the bin and jumped down to meet the two waiting for her. The brown kitten shook himself, sending droplets of water flying off and hitting the other two the moment she joined up with them. He began leading the other two kittens back to the dissolving cardboard box they had been abandoned in. There had been others, but they had all been picked off one by one by the humans walking by. They were the only ones left. They had been for days. It was only because the black one bit when someone reached for her or the brown one, the brown one bit whoever tried to touch the golden one and no one wanted to take the golden runt home.

The golden kitten curled up beside the brown, shivering as the heavy rain pelted at his tiny body, “ _We’re going to be dead soon._ ”

“ _Don’t say that!_ ” the brown kitten hissed, moving and laying on top of the golden body to shield him from the brunt of the rain, “ _We’ll be okay once the weather clears up_.”

The black kitten covered what was left of the golden, “ _We will protect you, and we’re going to make it through this._ ”

“ _The rain isn’t stopping and we can’t find food. I’m just holding the two of you back and-_ ”

A heavy brown paw dropped on the golden jaw, a small growl vibrating out, “ _Stop talking like that. We’re not going to leave you behind so stop being stupid._ ”

Silence fell over the trio. The heavy fall of rain began to increase as loud clatters rang through the sky. The storm was getting worse, but the trio of kittens refused to move from their dying home. After all they had nowhere else to go.

The golden began to shake, both from the cold and his cries, “ _Please… I was always meant to-_ ”

Again he was silenced by the heavy brown paw, this time with claws threatening to seal him shut.

“ _I said stop it!_ ”

“What’s this?”

The three kittens looked up at the human, the deep voice breaking through all of the violent weather surrounding them. The two large kittens were immediately on the defence, standing over their weaker friend with fur standing on end. Their protective actions only made the human laugh and crouch down closer to them all.

“Protecting the runt of the litter? That’s adorable. You three look like you’re freezing out here,” the human reached out and easily scooped up the three kittens. After some quick manoeuvring, the human had the three kittens hidden under his warm, dry jacket. They could hear his heart thumping close to them, and his body rolling waves of heat onto them. It didn’t take long until they were all fast asleep in his gentle embrace.

“I’m taking you all home.”

* * *

 

The storm weakened as the human drove out to his home, deep in the country, and the kittens safely tucked inside of his jacket. He hummed along with the radio as his home came into view. Shutting off the radio he ran inside, saving the kittens from the rain, and carefully held them close as his large sheep dog tried to jump on him the moment he walked through the door.

“Down Hanji,” he chuckled, patting her shaggy brown fur as she settled for bouncing around beside him, “I’ve brought home a surprise for you. Where’s Petra?”

Right on cue the Labrador walked into view, a large pair of slippers in her jaw. She padded closer, letting the man run his fingers through her soft fur before taking the slippers from her.

“Thank you Petra. Come now, I’ve got a surprise for the both of you.”

The dogs followed their master obediently to the living area. They watched with interest as he placed the three kittens on one of the many cushions that laced the room, not a single feline waking as he shifted them from the warm embrace.

“We have new family members. I found them in the cold,” the man explained as he removed the bulk of his clothes, wrapping the warmer items around the kittens, “Poor things must have been out there for days. I’m going to go warm up some milk for them so you girls watch them until I get back okay?”

It only took seconds after the human left before the shaggy sheep dog was softly bopping her paw at the trio.

“ _Hanji!_ ” Petra growled but made no movement to stop her, “ _Master Erwin said to watch them not bop them._ ”

Hanji merely continued her bopping until the black kitten lazily opened her eye. Immediately the dog was sniffing at the small kitten, “ _Coooo just look at you all. Where did you come from?_ ”

The black kitten calmly lifted her paw and bopped the dog on her nose in return, the main difference being the kitten violently dug in her claws before curling her paw back beneath her.

“ _Go away._ ”

“ _Kyaaaaaaaaa! I need that nose for smelling‼_ ”

“ _I did tell you to leave them alone_ ,” Petra moved closer to the kittens, keeping her distance as the brown one woke also and growled at her, “ _You don’t need to be scared. You’re safe here._ ”

“ _Until we know where here is you can stay over there_ ,” the black kitten threatened, her claws slowly worming their way out.

Petra nodded, pulling Hanji back by the scruff when the dog tried to go in for another bopping session. She let the kittens slowly wake up and observe their surroundings before starting to talk to them again, “ _Master Erwin brought you back to our home. You really are safe here. He’s a good master who cares for all of us._ ”

“ _Master? You mean the human right?_ ” the brown kitten stuck his nose in the air, “ _That’s stupid._ ”

“ _It’s not stupid. He’s a caring human. You lot could’ve died if Master Erwin hadn’t brought you lot back here._ ”

Before any of the kittens could retort Erwin had returned with a large bowl of warm milk in one hand and a smaller bottle in the other. He placed the bowl down in front of the darker kittens and picked the golden one, holding the shivering body close to his chest again.

“ _Don’t touch him‼_ ” the brown kitten hissed, preparing himself to launch only to be stopped by Petra’s paw on his tail. “ _Let go of me you b-!_ ”

“ _Just watch,_ ” she said softly.

Erwin cradled the kitten like a baby, on his back with paws curled against his belly. The milk bottle was carefully placed between the kittens jaw and soon he was drinking, the warm liquid filling his body on the inside and Erwin’s hand warming him on the outside.

“That’s it drink up,” Erwin cooed at the tiny kitten, “You need your strength more than the others.”

Seeing their weak friend was being cared for the two kittens started to lap up their own milk, enjoying having something filling their stomachs after so long. It was all so peaceful until the door opened again, sending Hanji into a barking frenzy as she tried to bowl down the new human who walked it.

“Piss off you stupid mutt!” the cold voice hissed at the dog, slowly moving its way to the living room, “Erwin… what the hell are you doing?!”

Erwin turned around, golden kitten still curled up and drinking in his hand, “I brought home-”

“We’re not keeping them.”

“Yes we are Levi.”

“You already brought home how many shitty animals?! Why do we need more?! Tch,” Levi moved closer, shrugging off his work blazer, and inspecting the kittens at a closer range, “Don’t tell me you picked them up off the street.”

“…”

“They’re fucking filthy.”

“They were helpless and they’re adorable, look at this one,” Erwin lifted the golden one a little higher, making him mew at the loss of his bottle.

“…it’s a runt.”

“Yes he his. I’m keeping him and the other two.”

“Tch, I’m not looking after them Erwin,” Levi moved away, grabbing the slippers Petra had fetched for him and giving her a soft pat on the head in thanks.

“You never look after any of our animals.”

“Your animals.”

Erwin chuckled and returned the bottle to the mewing kitten’s jaw, “What do you want to call them?”

“How about Shit, Crap and Poop?” Levi replied boredly, flicking the television on so he could watch his dramas.

The two larger kittens stopped drinking their milk, looking curiously up at the larger of the two humans. He scoffed and continued with his feeding, “We’re not naming them after you obsessions.”

“Tch.”

“How about Armin?” Erwin placed the small bottle on the floor, lifting the golden kitten higher to meet his eyes, “I like Armin for you. Do you like that name?”

“ _Um… okay?_ ” Armin mewed back at Erwin, making the human laugh and cuddle him closer.

“I’m glad you like it. Now let’s see about your friends…”

The brown kitten jumped onto Erwin’s hand, biting and scratching as he tried to get to the newly named Armin. It only made Erwin laugh and swing the kitten from his hand as the tiny jaws locked onto his soft skin.

“I’m going to call you Eren.”

“Shitty cat,” Levi muttered, watching Erwin being attacked.

“Now that just leaves you,” Erwin said, turning to the final kitten. With his free hand her gently knocked her over, checking her gender before chuckling, “So you’re a girl… how about Mikasa?”

“ _YOU CAN’T NAME US HUMAN‼_ ” Eren hissed at the man, looking back to Mikasa, “ _Help me get him back!_ ”

Mikasa merely lay back down on the warm cushion, “ _Eren, he’s not hurting Armin_.”

“ _HOW CAN YOU JUST ACCEPT THESE STUPID NAMES?!_ ”

“ _Because it means we have a home. Someone is looking after all of us. We’re no longer cold, or hungry, and look at Armin, he’s finally stopped shivering._ ”

Indeed the golden kitten had stopped shivering. He was curled up comfortably in the palm of Erwin’s hand, slowly drifting back to sleep. Eventually Eren backed away, just watching Erwin through careful eyes before mewing up at the man, “ _You can look after us._ ”

“They’re going to stay in our room tonight,” Erwin suddenly decided with Eren’s sudden change in attitude.

“Fuck off‼”

In an instant Levi was walking over to Erwin, anger creeping onto his face, “No animals in the bedroom. Dammit I had plans for tonight!”

“Your plans can wait. These kittens have been through a lot and they could still get very sick even though I’ve brought them indoors,” Erwin explained as he scooped up Eren and Mikasa, walking his way to the bedroom with a frustrated Levi at his heels, “Give it time and you’ll come to love them like I do Levi.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“And yet you stay. I must be ever so charming.”


	2. Officially Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wakes to find some unexpected guests in his bed.... it's obvious to say that he's unamused...

When Levi tried to wake he felt trapped. More trapped than usual. Of course he was used to being tangled between Erwin’s overly large limbs after each night that involved a lot of alcohol or freezing weather, but this was a different sort of trapped. He was further away from Erwin than he wanted to be. There was a distance between them that had never been there before. After opening it eyes he realized with great distaste just what that distance was. Between he and Erwin was a small collection of fur, all cuddled together with Erwin’s hand gently lying on top of the lot of them. Leaving Levi nearly falling out of the bed. So Levi sent a sharp kick into Erwin’s stomach, waking both Erwin and all the kittens up with the sudden movement.

“L-Levi?” Erwin coughed through his sleep and pain.

“You got the shitty animals in here but you said they’d stay in the corner,” Levi hitched Mikasa up by her scruff, shaking her a little as he made his point, “They’re too small to jump up here by themselves so just how did they get up here?”

“Well…”

“I’m throwing them out.”

“Okay, okay I brought them up here!” Erwin fought as much as he could but Levi was already dropping them on the floor, “One of them started coughing during the night and I couldn’t tell which one it was so I brought them all closer. They’re still in a tender condition so be more careful with them!”

“I don’t want any stupid cats!”

Each of the kittens squeaked as they were dropped, helping each other up and run out the door before the short human could come after them. The humans began to argue, frustrated tones rang out after them as they continue their escape. Eren led them towards the front door, scratching at the wood as he tried to open it.

“ _I told you that the humans were bad! We need to go‼_ ”

“ _Go where Eren?_ ” Armin inquired with his tiny squeak.

“ _Don’t call me the human name!_ ”

“ _You have no other name._ ”

“ _Well… I… help me figure out a way to get out of this place!_ ”

“ _Where will we go Eren?_ ” Mikasa pulled him back by the scruff, laying on top of the kitten in an attempt to stop him completely, “ _We just had our first meal in who knows how long! Armin is exhausted just from getting this far. We should stay until we are all strong enough to get away._ ”

“ _If we’re staying then we’re staying away from the humans! Both of them! And if the little one gets too close I will end him‼_ ”

“ _He doesn’t like us…_ ” Armin panted, lying down in front of Eren, “ _…and I don’t wanna get hurt. Maybe we could just hide until they’re gone then find out more about this place._ ”

“Levi you are an ass and you’re going to apologize!” Erwin growled as he ran after the kittens, spotting them in a huddle together and slowing his pace, “Hey there…”

They scattered. Armin dove straight under the couch, Mikasa ran towards the kitchen and Eren tried to face the large foe before him. He growled and hissed, back arching high and fur sticking out like spikes.

“Dammit Levi you’ve scared them all!”

“ _Eren…_ ” Armin’s paw reached out, trying to pull Eren under with him.

“ _Armin stay under there I’ve got this!_ ” Eren retaliated, clawing at Armin’s paw so it was safely tucked back into the tiny space under the couch.

Levi stormed towards Erwin, about to retort but after seeing Eren attack the small golden paw he narrowed his eyes. “This little shit, you’re mad at me because of this little shit?” he hissed as he walked closer to Eren. Levi swiftly grabbed Eren’s scruff, rendering him useless, and studied him at a closer range, “This little shit is good for feeding Hanji and not much else.”

“Levi. Put Eren down.”

“Where is that useless mutt?”

“You don’t even like Hanji! Why would you try to feed her Eren?!” Erwin asked as he followed Levi towards the kitchen.

“Because,” Levi replied coldly, “I fucking said so.”

“You are not harming any of my animals Levi!”

“Fuck‼”

Freezing in his steps Levi opened the blender and dropped Eren in it, locking the lid so Eren was trapped in the contraction. He turned back to Erwin with his cold gaze dropping, “Erwin, when I met you, you had just left the police force. You were this mysterious, gorgeous, serious man who knew what he wanted and he got it. How is it that this hardened man has this weird obsession with animals?!”

“What’s so hard to understand? I like animals. Now get Eren out of the blender.”

“Shut up it’s not on. We agreed last time you brought something home that it would be the last time.”

“They were dying…”

“That is not your fault‼”

As the humans argued Eren started pawing at his container. He didn’t understand what is was but no matter how hard he scratched he just couldn’t get out. He spotted Mikasa crawling out from her hiding spot to watch him.

“I don’t care whose fault it is but I’m not going to let them die either,” Erwin sighed, walking closer to Levi, “They’re helpless creatures. Look how terrified they are just because you threw them out of bed. Can’t you imagine how they feel?”

“No. I’m a person.”

Erwin leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on Levi’s cheek, “Give them a chance. You like Petra now, and besides cats are probably the cleanest animals out there.”

“They gonna crap inside?”

“No. I’ll train them and they’ll be tidy little companions that can warm up your lap while you watch your dramas.”

Slowly Levi came around, grumbling and tapping the side of the blender, “And we have to keep all three of them?”

“All of them. Both Eren and Mikasa stood over Armin when I first found them. It’s probably why they were all alone in the rain.”

“I let you get away with too much.”

It made Erwin smile as he watched Levi open the blender and lift Eren out. The kitten dangled helplessly in Levi’s hand, but that did not stop him from hissing and growling the whole time. Levi tossed the spitting Eren at Erwin and spotted Mikasa slinking back into the shadows, “…so where is the third one?”

After catching him, Erwin let Eren violently attack his hand, “Armin dove under the couch. They were terrified.”

“Just let him come out on his own. I’ve got to get ready for work.”

With Levi busy getting himself ready for work, Erwin set his mind onto the little creature attacked his hand. Still growling and hissing occasionally, Eren started to draw blood and coos out of the smiling Erwin.

“You’re a big scary cat aren’t you? Look at you! You’re destroying me‼”

Mikasa slowly crept her way out again, seeing Eren attacking the large human and the human just… encouraging him to do so. This was not what she had expected but she was glad. She could hear Eren purring by now. He was enjoying attacking the man and was starting to make a show of it. However, that didn’t last long as the kitten soon got tired and just lay in Erwin’s bleeding hand.

“Oh you strong kitty, you must be so hungry after defeating me like this. Come on Eren, I’ll get you and Mikasa some milk,” Erwin walked over, pouring out the milk all one handed while Levi ‘tched’ at his baby talk, “How about you three all rest up or explore your home while I go get some proper food for you lot. Does that sound good? Or how about I get you guys a nice new bed that you can all sleep on so Levi doesn’t throw you out of bed like a big old meany again?”

He placed the bowl of milk down beside two dishes labelled ‘Hanji’ and ‘Petra’, and then placed Eren in front of the bowl. He let Mikasa slowly slink over to drink with Eren as he walked back into the living room, his baby voice still cooing as he got closer to the couch.

“Armin… it’s okay… you can come out now…”

The kitten remained hidden beneath the couch. Erwin swore he could hear him shaking with terror as he inched closer and closer. Poor Armin didn’t know what was coming until Erwin had lifted the corner of the couch up, revealing Armin completely and sending him streaming straight for the kitchen after his friends. It was amusing to watch Armin run across the linoleum, unable to catch his footing, and slide right into the wall on the other side.

“ _Armin!_ ” Eren was immediately over by the crying kitten’s side, sniffing all over to check if he was bleeding.

Mikasa was padding over afterward, lying next to Armin protectively while Erwin stood in awe. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. Running over he shook Levi’s arm and pointed at the trio of kittens.

“You saw that right! He hit the wall and they ran over to try stop him from crying‼ Levi they’re adorable‼ We can’t ever, ever, ever let them go‼”

“I saw,” Levi pulled his arm back, “and I already said we can keep them.”

“Armin will have to sleep with us tonight, just until I’m sure that he’s perfectly healthy,” Erwin spoke but it was more to himself than to his companion, filling one of his little bottles with milk and heading towards Armin, “Of course Eren and Mikasa will have to be there too. Just for reassurance. I’ll get them all the things they need today but I’ll let you clean it all before they go anywhere near them.”

“ _He’s coming back_ ,” was the only warning Mikasa gave before Erwin had scooped up the crying Armin and was pushing the bottle to his lips.

“Drink up, don’t worry I won’t hurt you.”

“ _I like this human_ ,” Eren announced, watching Erwin tenderly feed Armin, “ _I don’t like that one_ ,” he hissed at Levi.

“Fuck you too cat,” Levi hissed back, passing Erwin with a coffee in a take away cup in his hand, “I’ll be back later. If they destroy anything I’ll lock them in the blender.”

He left for work before Erwin could come back with a clever reply. He was far too preoccupied with calming Armin’s cries to care what Levi had said anyway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah! Sorry I'm so bad at summaries.... also don't expected fast updates because I will probably take weeks to update next time heheheheeh


	3. Messy Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji wants to play a game....

“I’ll be back in a couple hours. Hanji and Petra will take good care of you until I’m back, okay? Have fun.”

Immediately after Erwin had left Eren was snooping around the place, smelling his way over to where Armin had been carefully placed. Curled up on a soft pillow and a fluffy blanket, Armin was purring softly and enjoying being taken care of after his panic in the morning. He was just about asleep when a dip in his cushion and a wet nose was pressed up against his face.

“ _Are… are you okay Armin_?”

“ _Still sore… I didn’t know that floor could do that_ ,” Armin yawned, giving Eren a quick lick to reassure him, “ _I didn’t know humans were so strong either_.”

“ _Well he’s gone now, so do you wanna come explore with me and Mikasa_?”

“ _I can try_ …” Armin stretched carefully and followed Eren off the cushion, letting the other kitten lead him into the kitchen, “ _but if there is somewhere you want to go and I can’t keep up you should still go. You can tell me about it later_.”

“ _Still on that? I’m never, ever going to leave you behind Armin_!”

“ _But what if I-_ ”

“ _Stop it Armin!_ ”

“ _I’m just saying that I’d rather be dead than a burden._ ”

“ _That’s it‼_ ”

Suddenly Eren had launched himself on Armin, knocking the golden kitten over. He bit on Armin’s ear and pulled warningly. “ _I will never EVER abandon you! Get that through your head already!_ ” Eren hissed, keeping Armin trapped beneath him as he spoke, “ _We’re brothers! I’m not going to leave you like the others did. We will stick together forever okay?!_ ”

“ _Er-_ ”

“ _BAD KITTY‼_ ” Hanji roared before trapping Eren between her powerful jaws, lifting him off Armin and shaking him about playfully.

Armin got to his shaky feet, standing for only a moment before he was bowled down by Petra as she chased Hanji around the kitchen.

“ _Put him down Hanji! Right now‼_ ”

It wasn’t long after Petra had passed that Mikasa was leaping over the cowering Armin, her own eyes stuck on the large dog carrying Eren about with glee.

“ _I will end you mutt._ ”

It didn’t take long before appliances and dishes were being knocked over and dragged about by the trio chasing each other, little Eren being shook about with much joy by the leader of it all. She bounced into the living area, standing on the large couch and raising the dizzy kitten into the air proudly. Immediately at her heels were Petra and Mikasa, both growling beneath her while she claimed the couch as her own.

“ _Hanji!_ ” Petra cautiously got closer, “ _That’s enough isn’t it? Please put him down._ ”

Unable to speak back, Hanji merely growled playfully and glanced at the clock. She was waiting. She knew what would happen in a few more seconds and then the real fun could begin for her.

“ _Hanji if you don’t put him down then I will be forced to_ -”

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT MUTT FUCK‼”

Levi had come home, as he did once every week when he had an early day. Normally he was greeted by Erwin, not the tornado struck mess that he came home to today. While Petra grabbed Mikasa and retreated to safety, the culprit of the mess stood proudly on the couch. Levi glared at the shaggy dog but she just growled playfully in return, giving Eren and small shake as Levi met her challenging eyes.

“Listen here you shit stain,” Levi dropped his bag and loosened his tie, “If anything happens to that tiny thing then Erwin will blame me…”

Hanji readied herself to run. This was a game she loved to play with Levi, sometimes he won and sometimes she won, and this time the prize would be Eren.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Move.”

Hanji leapt making Levi crash into the couch. She skilfully let Levi chase her around the living room and into the kitchen. She thought he had the upper hand until the blender fell right in front of her path. Hanji tried to scramble away but the small distraction had allowed Levi all the time he needed to catch her and pull at her scruff.

“Put the fucking cat down!” Levi ordered.

Hanji knew she was caught so she complied, placing Eren on the tiles gently before Levi dragged her to the door and kicked her outside.

“Stupid mutt,” Levi muttered as he slammed the door shut, looking over and picking up the blender, “What the hell happened here?” As Levi moved to put it back in place he was met with two large eyes the colour of the ocean. He slowly reached out as the kitten pressed itself back against the counter wall. “Did you… push that thing?” Levi asked trying to grab Armin but the kitten had already run off the counter, squeaking and flopping on the floor as Eren ran over to check that the runt was alright.

“ _Armin! Armin are you okay?!_ ” Eren mewed, helping Armin back to his feet, “ _Did you push that thing in front of the mutt?!_ ”

Armin started purring with Eren by his side, “ _Yes. Sorry. You looked like you were in trouble so I thought…_ ”

“ _THANK YOU ARMIN‼_ ”

Eren bounced on the golden kitten, licking the tiny face affectionately and unaware of Levi watching the scene before him. It made it easy for Levi to pick Armin up, pushing Eren aside with his foot, and sitting the runt in his shirt pocket.

“You stay there,” Levi ordered the cowering kitten, who was burring himself further into the pocket to hide from Levi, “and as for you…” Levi caught Eren, carrying the hissing kitten in his left hand as he left the kitchen, “you can stay there until Erwin gets back. Now where’s the last one? ….Petra!”

Responding to the call Petra returned with Mikasa in her mouth. She offered the kitten to Levi who placed her in the same hand as Eren after she viciously attacked his free hand. It allowed Levi to pat Petra’s head affectionately. As much as Levi hated the mess he wasn’t going to be cleaning while he was covered in kittens so he sat down and watched whatever was on the television, waiting a good hour before Erwin returned and dropped his new items for the kittens.

“Hanji didn’t….”

“Hanji fucking did,” Levi growled, turning up the volume to cover Eren’s growing hisses, “Apparently she thought your shit coloured kitten was her new play toy.”

“Eren!” Erwin ran over, taking Eren and Mikasa from Levi and gently cooing at them, “You’re okay now. I’m sure you were big and brave Eren. And Mikasa, you gorgeous girl. You’re going to be a heart breaker aren’t you? Yes you are!”

Levi huffed and finally got out of his chair, “You’re helping me clean Erwin.”

“Of course, of course,” Erwin said, looking around the disaster sight, “Where’s Armin?”

“You get the last one back after this place is clean.”

“But Levi!”

“Clean first cat later.”

 


	4. Safe Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everything cleaned up and the humans in bed the animals get talking. Confessions are made and secrets about the farm are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, hello peoples reading this currently. If you want to know about updates and stuff feel free to follow me or the tags on tumblr at:   
> http://ask-kiwi-armin.tumblr.com/

It took nearly three hours for Hanji’s mess to be cleaned up to Levi’s standards, as well as setting up the kittens’ new area and cleaning up that mess. They got a brand new bed they could all share, a giant bowl for food, a few small cat cages in case they had to go out, several odd toys and a scratching post so they wouldn’t destroy the furniture. Erwin placed the darker kittens on the new bed, though the two quietly jumped off and followed the man to his destination. 

“Levi,” Erwin stated, “Give me Armin.” 

Levi smirked at the man and continued his cooking, “I don’t feel like it.” 

“Levi we had a deal!” 

“Yeah we did, but you still brought more animals home,” Levi slid the fish onto the plates and brought the dishes to the table, sitting down and pushing the golden head back into his pocket as it tried to peek out, “Now I’m putting my foot down. I want a few more things done before I give your runt back.” 

The entire meal Erwin grumbled about not getting Armin back while Eren and Mikasa mewed loudly at his heels, it all just made Levi’s smirk a little wider. At the end of the meal Levi pointed at the dishes and stated, “There is still a mess Erwin.” 

All the dishes were washed and dried, put away and benches scrubbed until they shined. Erwin returned, hand held out flat and his tone demanding. “Give. Me. Armin.” 

“Fine, fine, take your runt,” Levi passed the trembling Armin back, looking at him carefully before placing him on Erwin’s hand, “You need a leash for him. He’ll get stuck somewhere if you’re not careful.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Erwin murmured. He watched Armin curl into a trembling ball in the palm of his hand, hiding his face under his tiny paws. “You poor thing,” Erwin cooed, using one finger to pat him softly, “Levi is a scary man isn’t he. I don’t blame you for hiding.” 

“Tch. I’m going to bed… by the way that cat in your hand pushed the blender onto the floor so we might need a new one.” 

“You… what? Levi!” Erwin called but the short man had already retreated. Erwin sighed and went back to preparing dinner for the animals, letting Hanji back in and gently talking to himself. “I’ve got a dog that likes to taunt my partner and a runt destroying my appliances. Well at least you all have your beds and things now so Levi will be happy about that. Petra,” he looked to the obedient dog, “I want you to watch over the kittens tonight. If they make any strange noises you come find me okay?” He place Armin down with the other two kittens, pointing at them and uttering a single word. “Protect.” 

Erwin left for bed, leaving the animals alone for their first night together. 

“ _Sooo_ ,” Hanji inhaled her meal instantly and sat down, watching the kittens reach up and drink from their own bowl, “ _you know that whole mess earlier was just so I could mess with Levi right?_ ” 

Eren growled. Not only was she interrupting his meal but he did not like being tossed around like a toy. He pulled back from the bowl and arched his back high, “ _Stay away from me!_ ” 

“ _Oh come now. I’m actually really helpful, watch_.” Hanji used her paw to gently flick Armin into the bowl of milk and sat back proudly, “ _See! Now he can drink it better._ ” 

“ _Armin!_ ” Eren watched the golden kitten before readying himself to attack Hanji, “ _You keep you paws off my brother you mutt‼_ ” 

Petra shook her head, flicking Hanji with her tail, “ _Go to your bed Hanji. I’ll try and talk these guys around okay?_ ” 

The larger dog retreated to her bed in the living room dejectedly, leaving Petra alone with the three small kittens. Mikasa had helped Armin out of the bowl and she and Eren were doing their best to lick the small body free of milk. 

“ _I feel yucky_ ,” Armin cried softly, no longer hungry for the meal covering him, “ _Why did she do that? I was reaching just fine!_ ” 

“ _Hanji is… Hanji… there is really no other way to explain her_ ,” Petra tried to explain, trying to get closer back stayed cautious with Mikasa glaring at her, “ _Look, if you’re done eating why don’t you come in and tell us about yourselves. We could tell you more about the farm._ ” 

Mikasa gave Armin a long lick before judging Petra. “ _You and the other dog will stay away from us_ ,” she declared, “ _If either of you move, we will attack._ ” 

“ _That’s fine. Do you need a hand getting there Armin?_ ” 

“ _I’m okay_ ,” Armin replied, kicking out his legs as he waked with the others onto their new bed. They all curled up, Armin in the middle so the other two could continue to licking the milk off of him. He watched Petra settle in her bed before deciding to speak up, “ _Are you two the only others here? Well… who aren’t human?_ ” 

“ _Nope, there’s a whole mess of them out there_ ,” Hanji chimed in, “ _We’ve got Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Moblit, Jean, Marco…_ ” 

“ _Hanji!_ ” Petra barked and laughed softly, turning back to Armin, “ _There are a lot more of us, but they’re all outside. Perhaps tomorrow Erwin will take you out with us to meet them all._ ” 

Eren placed a paw over Armin, resting his head on his brother’s before joining in the conversation. “ _What do you do? All we’ve seen is the big human feed us and yell at the little human who’s a jerk._ ” 

“ _Erwin and Levi. Levi goes out to work every day but is home early once a week. Erwin stays here usually and works on the farm_ ,” Petra gave a yawn and rested her head on her paws, “ _The chickens give him eggs, the sheep give him wool, the Krista gives him milk while Jean and Marco help out with the manual things. Like I said before, there are a lot of them out there. You’ll get to meet them all don’t worry._ ” 

“ _Anyone we should be concerned about?_ ” Mikasa asked, resting on Armin’s paws so the trio of heads were stacked, “ _Besides the one over there?_ ” 

“ _There are a few wild animals around. We used to have far more sheep but they got killed off. It’s why Erwin keeps Hanji and I inside and the sheep in the barn now._ ” 

“ _Wild animals? If they come anywhere near us I’ll kill them all_ ,” Eren hissed to no one in particular. 

“ _I wouldn’t be so sure_ ,” Hanji warned, “ _I’ve studied them when we used to sleep outside. We used to take them down when they tried to invade but one night a group of them trapped Petra against a tree_ ,” Hanji glanced at the other dog who was listening silently, “ _Luckily Erwin and Levi heard me calling and they came out. Petra was close to death for a long time but managed to pull back. Now we sleep inside_ .” 

“ _Oh…_ ” Armin spoke up as he was squished protectively between the other two, “ _Are you sure the others out there are alright?_ ” 

“ _They’ll be fine. Erwin made safe homes for them all_ ,” Petra explained, “ _There’s nothing left to fear here. I’m sure your previous owner abandoned you but Erwin and Levi won’t._ ” 

“ _We weren’t all abandoned_ ,” Mikasa spoke up. 

“ _Oh? I’m sorry I just assume you were all…_ ” 

“ _No. Eren and Armin were abandoned. My parents were killed by some sewer rats. I ran away for safety and came across them in the box. Together Eren and I managed to scare them off and we’ve all been together ever since that day_ .” At the end of her tale Mikasa had ended up in the middle with the two boys licking away her emotional wounds. They purred and merged into a ball of multi-coloured fur. 

Neither dog said another word. After making sure the kittens were fast asleep they both got up and curled themselves around the outside of the bed. While Erwin seemed to only give Petra the order both dogs felt obliged. Together, they were going to protect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I hope you all enjoyed that little bit. Petra managed to live ((sorry that was mean)) and Mikasa isn't related to the boys :D
> 
> Introductions of the other farm animals come in the next chapter~~


	5. A Large Loving Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kitten trio get introduced on the others on the farm, now they just have to get cleaned before Levi will touch them.

“Be safe!”

“Stay clean‼”

The door slammed shut as Levi left for work. Minutes later the smell of cooking meat wafted through the air and woke the animals. They sniffed at the air and drifted into the kitchen in their sleepy state, the dogs waking faster as realisation dawned upon them.

“ _Holy shit! Holy shit!_ ” Hanji barked as he bounced around Erwin’s heels, “ _Erwin! Erwin I love you! I love you! I love you!_ ”

“Oh? I know what you want Hanji!” Erwin paused his cooking, turning the heat down so he could crouch down. He let Hanji slobber on his face as he gave her loving kisses, “You want the meat don’t you? Yes you do! Yes you do! Huh? Gorgeous girl‼”

“ _I love you Erwin! I want the meat! I want the meat!_ ”

“Yes you do you want the meat!”

The kittens sat in confused awe as Petra joined Hanji in slobbering over Erwin. They practically sat on the man as the slobbered their affections all over him. Eventually Erwin managed to push the excited dogs off of him so he could collect the meat from the pan. He took his time cutting it up, so it had time to cool, before sharing the mounds between Hanji and Petra’s plates. The two dogs jumped on their dishes, devouring the warm meat in their bowls with soft growls when the other got too close to the other.

“Now, come here you lot,” Erwin chuckled warmly as he scooped up the kittens. He placed them carefully on the counter and bent down so he was at their eye level, “We have a very big day ahead of us. A big day means a big meal is needed. The girls have their special meat and you lot get…” Erwin wandered to the fridge and returned with a large plate of milk, “…this. I got it yesterday, it’s a special milk so you lot should have enough energy to run about all day.”

After cautiously sniffing the sweet smelling milk the kittens tried, and fell in love. They all lapped up the liquid as fast as they possibly could, and the proceeded to lick the plate till it was bone dry. Eren began to push the other two out of the way as he sniffed around for more.

“Alright that’s enough you bully,” Erwin chuckled as he scooped up the trio, holding them all in one hand. He let out a sharp whistle, catching the attention of the growling dogs, and opened the door leading out to the farm, “Come on girls, we’ve got work to do.”

The back door opened and the fresh smell of the farm caught them all. The kittens began to squirm with excitement. This new world was unlike anything they had ever seen before. There weren’t any large buildings or cars anywhere. It was fresh, clean, and the much smaller buildings looked well-kept and tidy.

“ _Oh my! Look at that‼ What’s that thing over there?!_ ” Armin asked, squirming as he tried to look around me, “ _I hear birds do you see them?! Oh! Oh! Over there‼ Up in that tree‼ And look a stream over water‼ Is there fish?! I wanna see it‼_ ”

“ _Armin…_ ” Mikasa stared, a little amused, “ _I’ve never seen you so excited._ ”

“ _Look at this world! It’s so new‼ I wanna know all about it! I have to know‼_ ”

Erwin tightened his grip as Armin threatened to tumble out. “Easy now. I’ll let you lot run around soon enough but we’ve got some introductions to do first,” Erwin chuckled, opening the doors of the barn and letting all the animals inside walk their way out. He placed the kittens down and looked at the dogs behind him, “Keep the kittens here okay?”

Both Hanji and Petra barked happily at the command, keeping the trio between them after Erwin had placed them down. Erwin got to work on ushering the animals out into the open yard. Meanwhile Armin attempted to escape several times, determined to explore the area with Eren which resulted in Hanji and Petra having to hold them up by the scruffs. The animals exited the barn slowly, taking in the new sight of the kittens before moving off to their usual spots.

“Jean come here,” Erwin called, giving a small whistle he made the stallion trot over. He stroked the fine mane and looked at the kittens, “This is Jean, my stallion. I’m going to ride around the farm to check on things so I’ll be back soon. The girls will look after you but you won’t go too far.” Erwin jumped onto Jean, comfortably riding off on the horse bareback showing off his experience.

“ _Put me down!_ ” Armin cried, trying to escape Hanji’s firm jaws.

Petra placed Eren down, knowing the kitten wouldn’t run while Armin was with Hanji. She began to lead them around, meeting the other animals. “ _So you’ve seen Jean, I’m sure you’ll be able to chat with him when he and Erwin come back, but over here is Marco_ …”

The donkey moved closer sniffing at the kittens, “ _Hi there, you’re new…_ ”

With that small statement the animals moved closer, each curious about the new additions. The first to get close, after Marco had stepped back, was the shinning rooster. He pecked at the ground close to Eren to gage the kitten’s reaction.

“ _Oi!_ ” Eren hissed, swiping at the sharp beak, “ _Watch where you put that thing!_ ”

“ _That’s Connie,_ ” Petra explained, getting between the two before a fight could start, “ _he and his hens are usually scattered about._ ”

Connie puffed up his feathers, strutting about the area surrounding the, “ _That right! And you cats better stay away from them, or I will end you myself!_ ”

“ _Moving on…_ ” Petra lead the kittens and Hanji over towards the sheep, “ _Hanji mentioned these guys last night. This is Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Moblit, Nanaba, Hitch and Rico. They’re the ones who’ve… survived the longest here._ ”

“ _How do you do?_ ” they all baaed in response.

“ _Over here is Sasha… but she doesn’t talk much till the afternoon_.” Petra continued past as the goat ignored her, chewing down everything in her path. “ _Then there is Krista and her bull Ymir_ ,” she barked at the cow and her bull cheerfully, letting them walk their way over, “ _Ymir, it’s not often that we see you out of your pen._ ”

“ _Erwin wants a calf and I am more than happy to give him one_ ,” Ymir snorted, sniffing her younger cow over protectively, “ _Who the heck are they?_ ”

“ _This is Mikasa, Eren and Armin._ ” Petra introduced them, almost proudly, “ _Erwin found them a couple days ago._ ”

Krista nodded in understanding, “ _So that’s why he only came out to feed us. I must say I’ve been dying to walk about here. I hate being cooped up for so long…_ ”

“ _He’s just riding Jean around the farm to check on things, he’ll be back to milk you soon._ ”

“ _Oh thank goodness._ ”

“ _Hey!_ ” Connie announced his presence again, sitting on Hanji’s back so he knew at least one creature was listening to him, “ _I thought that Erwin wanted to get a pig. I heard him talking to Levi about a pig named Nile. Or was it Levi who said the pig was Nile… anyway I thought we were getting a pig!_ ”

“ _Yeah I heard that too!_ ” Sasha yelped, running over so she could be part of the conversation. Connie immediately jumped over to her back as she started eating, her input into the discussion done.

“ _Hey! Hanji!_ ” Armin mewed, squirming harder than before, “ _Put me down! I wanna look around._ ”

Hanji shook her head, making Armin dizzy in the process and stopping any attempt at escaped. She did this as Erwin returned on Jean. He smiled with approval and moved closer to the animals that had congregated together. “I knew you would all get along,” he beamed, “Come on kittens, I’ll let you run around while I finish up my jobs and such with these guys.” Erwin patted Hanji’s head as she obediently put Armin down, “You can come help me my beautiful girl.”

The second Armin’s paws touched the ground he sprinted off to explore. Eren was right on his heels followed by Mikasa. They ran about, Petra keeping a close eye on them, while Erwin got to work with the others.

The sun was starting to set by the time Erwin had finished all the jobs he had put off in order to look after the new trio. He had removed his shirt at some point during the day and left it on the fence. It was the sweating body that Levi saw the moment he walked out to see where Erwin was.

“That’s the reason I let you keep these damned creature around,” Levi called, leaning against the doorframe, “but if you think you’re touching me like that you’re dead wrong.”

Erwin chuckled, calling back to Levi as he lead the animals back into their barn, “I know, I know. I’ll feed the kittens and dogs and then I’ll go have a shower while you make dinner. Until then you can just enjoy the sight.”

“Tch, you don’t need to tell me twice.”

It was only a matter of minutes before Erwin had finished putting the animals away. It took longer for him to say good night to them, seeming that he gave each animal an individual and unique good night.

“Erwin hurry up! I haven’t got all…” Levi lost his train of thought as he spotted the kittens being ushered towards him by the two dogs. It seemed that they had decided to thank the humans by catching them a present, and Levi was the one about to receive them. “…Erwin get the hell over here!”

“What is it? Oh…” Erwin grabbed his shirt, wiping down his face and putting it on. He spotted the small presents when he was close enough and they made him laugh. Armin had caught them a small bug, Eren and caught him a mouse, and Mikasa had managed to catch a bird nearly half her size. “Oh my, haven’t you lot been busy. Thank you so much!” Erwin crouched down, grabbing the three kittens and kissing each of the small heads, “I’m glad you’re all happy here.”

“They’re a mess, and the dogs,” Levi groaned, moving back inside, “I’m running a bath for the lot of you.”

“A bath? A bath! Levi you’re a genius,” Erwin chuckled, keeping the kittens in one hand he shut and locked the door after the dogs had come inside, “I know that cats aren’t too fond of water but learning to swim is essential. Plus if I get you lot used to the water then I can clean you more often, and maybe Levi will let you sleep on his lap.”

* * *

The bathroom, as expected, ended up in a slippery mess. With Hanji jumping in and out of the bath on top of Erwin squishing himself in with all the animals, water managed to get on the roof as well as all over the floor. At least they had all managed to get clean, somehow.

Erwin wrapped the kittens up in a large towel, passing them to Levi so he could focus on getting the dogs dry instead.

“Stupid Erwin,” Levi cursed, sitting in his chair and peeling back the towel to look at the upset, wet faces, “Tch. At least you’re clean now.”

“ _Your mutt is crazy!_ ” Eren hissed up at Levi, “ _She nearly trampled us on several different occasions! I thought she was going to drown Armin‼_ ”

“You are annoying.”

Levi rubbed Eren’s face quickly, trying to shut the kitten up but got nothing more than growls instead. He was more careful when drying Armin, almost afraid that he’d break the kitten if he pressed too hard, and then dried Mikasa the easiest out of the lot. When finished he stared down at the lot of them, watching them sneeze and clean each other.

“Oi Erwin!” he yelled out, eyes never leaving the kittens, “We need collars for this lot. I can get more of those tags tomorrow. Might as well label them if you’re going to keep them.”

Erwin practically ran out, the semi wet dogs at his feet and a towel wrapped around his waist. He smiled brightly as he watched Levi, “You’ve never once offered to actually bring tags for any of the animals. You like them don’t you? You like the kittens.”

“They’re less work than the others,” Levi commented boredly. He gently ran his hand over Mikasa, watching as she sat staring back at him. “Who knows… Eren did kill one of the filthy mice out in your barn so they could be useful. They’ll keep the vermin out of the house at least.”

“Levi you’re making me so happy right now‼”

“Finish drying the mutts!”

It was too late. Hanji had already jumped up beside Levi and was licking his face. Petra was at his feet, curling up beside his feet and watching him try to fight off Hanji’s affections.


	6. Worried Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything seems normal, just another day on the famr, but Armin has noticed something.... if only he could get the attention of the other kittens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been slow at updating (and not gonna lie it's not gonna get better), but moving cities and starting uni again is really going to slow me down. Plus cosplay comp and all that other good stuff is there too.

The kittens had become more relaxed over the next few days, picking up on Erwin’s patterns and coming about in their own way. They ate and followed him outside each morning and were brought back by the dogs each night. It was the beginning of a routine of life.

Eren was bending low, hiding in the high grass and watching as Armin attempted to catch the butterfly that was teasingly flying just out of his reach. Body pressed against the ground Eren readied to pounce on his unsuspecting friend.

“ _Your ass is too high_.”

Eren squeaked and jumped from fright when Hanji barked. He spun around on himself and arched his back at her, “ _What the hell was that for?!_ ”

“ _Science_.”

“ _Sci-what?_ ”

“ _It’s a human thing._ ”

“ _You’re a dog… no you’re a mutt._ ”

“ _Well you are just a sack full of sunshine,_ ” Hanji lay down, lazily rolling onto her side to bask in the sun, “ _I actually came over to talk to you about something but since you’re being mean I’ll just keep it to myself…_ ”

Eren’s curiosity got the better of him and soon he was crawling forwards. “ _What is it? It’s not something stupid is it?_ ”

“ _I was just going to tell you about… the vet!_ ”

“ _What’s a vet?_ ”

“ _A vet is a horrid human!_ ” Hanji got to her feet, standing over Eren and growling quietly, “ _They like to stick long metal things in you. They’ll slide an object up your butt! And worst of all… they’ll take away… your man hood._ ”

“ _N-no…_ ” Eren whimpered, backing closer to where Armin was playing, “ _Y-you’re lying… that can’t be true…_ ”

“ _Oh but it is. So if you don’t behave Erwin will take you there, and then the vet will get closer and closer with their sharp tools… and then they’ll-_ ”

“ _Eren!_ ” Armin called, bouncing over and ended Hanji’s terrifying threats. He pounced on Eren and struggled to bring the larger kitten to the ground, purring happily as he licked Eren’s face. “ _I found an awesome hiding place, it’s not far. Come see it with me! Then we can play hide and seek with Mikasa‼_ ”

Eren stared at Hanji, he tried to shake of her words as lies but he just couldn’t. They were too scary. So he chose to try and distract himself by listening to Armin. Eren easily got to his feet, rolling the two of them over so he was pinning Armin to the ground so he could clean the golden kitten instead. “ _Yeah! Mikasa is always watching us from a distance so it’s about time that we made her do something._ ”

Armin purred louder, softly batting Eren away so he could get to his feet to lead. The journeyed over to the large tree by the obviously abandoned dog houses. Even with his small size Armin skilfully pounced onto the dog houses and onto a low hanging branching, pulling himself up he padded over to the trunk and slipped into the small hole that was there. Eren followed quickly, jumping in beside Armin and looking around for himself.

“ _I’m surprised you managed to get up here_ ,” Eren said, sniffing around for any signs of danger, “ _Normally you can barely manage to run about, let alone climb all over stuff like me or Mikasa._ ”

“ _I know! I know! But I can do it now‼_ ” Armin bounced around excitedly, slipping out of the hole and looking for Mikasa from the branch, “ _Where’s Mikasa? Let’s play already! I wanna show her that I can hide just as well as you two can, because I can now!_.”

Eren ran out and joined him, jumping straight down from the branch and running all about to find Mikasa. His search took him all over the farm, at least the area of the farm that Erwin had permitted for them to explore. If any of the kittens ever tried to explore any further than what Erwin had stated then one of the dogs would always end up bringing them back and placing them at Erwin’s feet. So after exploring the outside areas Eren headed inside the barn, making sure that Armin was following, and started to call all around.

“ _Mikasaa! Mikasa come play with us‼_ ”

Armin quickly joined, calling in his higher tone, “ _Mikasa where are you?_ ”

The black kitten slunk out of the shadows, a half-eaten mouse between her powerful jaws. She walked out to meet the two, placing the mouse down, and idly cleaning herself as they spoke. “ _What did you guys want to play?_ ”

“ _Forget play! Why were you hunting without me?!_ ” Eren growled, “ _You said that we could do it together‼ I wanted to catch something for Armin. You always do this‼_ ”

Mikasa placed the paw she was cleaning down softly, nodding to the half mouse at her feet. “ _I caught that for the both of you. If you’re hungry you should eat it,_ ” she mewed gently, purring as Armin stepped forwards to sniff at the body, “ _It’s perfectly fine._ ”

“ _I don’t want your sloppy seconds! I can find my own_ ,” Eren hissed before running off to catch another of the mice that were scampering about.

“ _Eren. Stop packing such a fuss._ ”

Mikasa followed him off, the two hissing and growling on the verge of a cat fight and effectively scaring off the mice that remained in the area. They left Armin sniffing at the corpse and batting it about thoughtfully. Eventually he ran after the, calling and trying to catch their attentions but they were both too busy bickering over mice to notice his attempts.

The fighting lasted for the rest of the day, as well as Armin’s futile attempts to gain the attention of either party. The trio continued their calls all through the human’s dinner and by the end of it Levi had had enough.

“I will throw them all in the blender and hit _purée_ _‼_ ”

“I don’t know what their problem is,” Erwin sighed, getting out of his chair, abandoning his meal to get up and place down the meal for the kittens. Unfortunately all three kittens ignored their meat and continued mewing loudly at each other. He reached down and scooped up Armin, deciding to feed him with a bottle so the runt would have eaten that night. But Armin kept turning away and refusing the meal. “Come on Armin, you have to eat.”

“Tch,” Levi growled, packing away the left overs and getting started on the dishes, “If they don’t want to eat don’t force them. Let’s just go to bed.”

“The others yes, but Armin is much weaker and I won’t have him missing meals,” Erwin explained. He carefully began to pry Armin’s small jaw open with his fingers and slipped the end of the bottle in, but instead of suckling and drinking down the liquid Armin began to scratch and growl at the bottle. “Yes, I know, I can see that you don’t want to eat it but you have to,” Erwin cooed, using his pinky finger to soft brush under Armin’s chin until the kitten began to drink, “There we go. See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Levi sighed and finished the dishes, walking past Erwin with his eyes shut in an annoyed fashion. “I’m going to bed, come join me when you’re done… babysitting.”

“I will. I love you Levi.”

“Yeah… you too.”

Erwin was awake for another three hours trying to calm the kittens down. After that they had exhausted themselves out and so he was able to place them down on their bed. “Alright you three, I don’t know what is going on but you three need to sleep,” Erwin kissed each kitten and yawned, “Good night. Don’t cause any trouble tonight.”

After he left the three rearranged themselves, Mikasa and Eren being as far apart from each other as possible and Armin being the wall between them. Now that they weren’t bickering Armin tried again, mewing gently, “ _Mikasa… I need to talk to you about th-_ ”

“ _Go to sleep Armin_ ,” she stated, not giving any indication for an argument.

“ _Please this is seriou-_ ”

“ _Don’t tell him what to do!_ ” Eren interrupted, “ _You can’t tell either of us what to do! You’re not our mother!_ ”

“ _Eren I nee-_ ”

“ _Go to sleep Armin!_ ”

“ _So you can order him around but I can’t?_ ” Mikasa growled.

“ _I can because he’s **my** brother!_ ” Eren retorted.

They fell into silence once again. Armin whimpered between them. He needed to talk to them but neither was even trying to listen to him right now. It would have to wait until morning. He hoped by then they would be calm enough to hear him out. This was dangerous after all.

* * *

It wasn’t the squeaking cough that woke Armin and Eren, but rather the violent trembling. They woke up quickly, sensing danger, and looked up to watch Mikasa cough and pant badly in her sleep.

“ _Mikasa… Mikasa_ ,” Eren started mewing and softly patting her with his paw, “ _Mikasa! Wake up! Wake up Mikasa‼_ ”

As Eren mews grew louder and more desperate the two dogs woke, only to see a ball of gold rush by them and down the hallway. Running as fast as he could, Armin didn’t stop until he was outside of the bedroom door. He started scratching and calling as loud and hard as he could possibly manage until a very dark looking Levi swung the door open.

“I swear you little shit…”

His words didn’t bother Armin. Instead the kitten kept mewing and running just out of Levi’s reach each time he went to grab him. Eventually Erwin joined him and Armin managed to lead them both out to the living room, where the dogs had joined Eren in whimpering their concern over the coughing Mikasa.

Erwin took one look at the trembling kitten and pushed the other animals aside. “Levi! I have to take her to a vet now!” He practically barked, taking her and the bed and carefully sliding it all into her cat cage.

“Are you insane?” Levi followed him, making sure the man was at least part way dressed, “It’s three in the morning, no one will be open.”

“I know someone who can help.”

“He’s not going to be happy about it Erwin…”

“He’ll understand,” Erwin said, taking another look at Mikasa as she threw up inside of the cage, “He has to…”

Armin watched Erwin run out and the rest of the room fall deathly silent, he started to cry and curl into himself. Eren walked over, slightly dazed, and poked Armin with his nose. “ _What’s wrong?_ ”

“ _I knew that mouse smelled funny…_ ” Armin whimpered.


	7. Mikasa Come Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin takes Mikasa to his personal vet while the other two kittens are left to worry.

It didn’t matter what time of day it was, if one of Erwin’s precious babies was in trouble then nothing would stop him from banging on his personal vet’s door. He pelted at the door with one hand while the other held the container cradling the shivering Mikasa. He continued his barrage even as he heard footsteps travelling closer and closer, until the door opened and revealed the large man standing inside.

“…Erwin?” the tired voice questioned.

“Mikasa is sick!” Erwin cried back, welcoming himself in and flicking on the light.

“Ugh…” the groan sighed, one hand covering his tender eyes from the blinding light as he followed, “I really wish you had called first.”

“I didn’t have time! We were sleeping then Armin scratched at the door until we woke up and then he brought us out and Mikasa was like this‼” Erwin explained, placing the cage down on the kitchen table and pulling Mikasa and her cushion out, “Please tell me you can fix her Mike‼”

“When did you get cats?” Mike enquired with a yawn, shifting Mikasa around carefully to get a good look at her, “Never mind. I need my gear…”

Erwin sat down beside Mikasa and carefully stroked her fur while Mike walked off to get his animal care gear. She was looking worse, having still not woken up the entire trip and even her black glossy appeared to have dulled down. Her tongue hung out of her tiny mouth as he panted in attempts to cool herself down. She looked a real mess.

“Alright.” Mike interrupted Erwin’s observations upon his return, sitting in the other chair and pulling Mikasa closer to himself. Using a variety of tools he took her temperature, blood sample, and several minor checks before moving on to test her blood.

It was a strained silence that fell over them while Mike worked. There were so many questions that Erwin wanted to ask but were too scared, scared of his questions being answered with the worst possible answer. Even just thinking about made Erwin want to hold the kitten close to his heart and never let her go again.

Eventually Mike looked up from his test at Erwin, sighing he said, “Stop with that face. I know what you’re thinking and you can just stop.”

“But-”

“She’s got some poisoning, but nothing that’s uncommon.”

“Poisoned?! I swear Mike I never-”

“I know, and I can guess what happened. You have a farm with mice, you left poison out, she ate one of the mice and got the poison herself,” Mike explained, returning to inject some medicine into her arm, “I’ll keep her here for a few days and make sure she takes it well.”

“You have to go back on the force!” Erwin argued, “What if something happens while you’re not here?”

“Calm down. I have a lovely young vet who comes in to look on animals when I’m working. She’s looking for a recommendation.” Mike yawned, picking Mikasa up from her pillow and cradling her in his large hands, “Now if you don’t mind, get out I want to sleep. You can come check on her tomorrow.”

“Right…” Erwin took back the soiled pillow and slipped it back in the cage, “Thank you Mike, I can always count on you to help me with my animals.”

“I should charge you for the amount of times you show up here, crying about something one of your animals did,” Mike joked as he walked Erwin to the door.

“You are the best vet I know!”

“Dog handler, made vet, with the way you were always coming to me with some problem about the dogs which you didn’t even have to worry about,” Mike chuckled, “Then you retire and you still managed to come back for advice. I had to take classes in order to keep up with the questions you were asking me. A few years later I managed to become a proper vet.”

“I rely on you too much and I thank you for all the effort you put in for me.”

“You’re the best leader I know.”

Erwin clapped Mike’s shoulder in thanks and headed back to his car. Mikasa was in the best care with Mike, and now he had to get back home to see how the others were coping.

* * *

Tired eyes watched the two kittens as they sat at the front door, staring and waiting in complete silence. As much of a nice change it was from the spastic playing that Levi was used to, it was starting to creep him out how they could just sit and stare for so long. It didn’t even look like they were breathing.

The second the door handle twitched the two started mewing desperately, chasing Erwin and they cage as he entered the house looking tired but relaxed.

“What happened?” Levi asked, more concerned that Erwin hadn’t said anything yet rather than the fact that he had no Mikasa with him.

It was difficult for Erwin to answer, not with Eren currently climbing up his leg and Armin mewing sadly as he tried to see into the cage. “Mikasa got poisoned from eating one the rats,” Erwin started to explain after placing the cage down and the two kittens ran towards it, “so Mike said he’d look after her for a few days and then I could bring her home.”

“Good. Let’s go to bed.”

“Actually you go… I’m going to stay up with Eren and Armin.”

“Erwin… they’re not children. They’ll be fine.”

Erwin shook his head with a small smile, both Eren and Armin already mewing helplessly at his heels after realizing the lack of Mikasa. He wasn’t going to go anywhere and Levi knew it.

“Just try to sleep you moron,” Levi sighed, heading back to his room to sleep.

With Levi gone, Erwin turned his full attention to the two at his feet. He scooped them both up and held them to his chest, sitting in his chair so the worried dogs could sit at his feet. “Mikasa is okay, she just won’t be home for a few days,” he said to the kittens, running a thumb over each of their heads, trying to calm them down, “You don’t have to worry. I promise I’ll bring her home soon.”

But nothing Erwin did or said calmed the two. Eren started biting and hissing, jumping away from Erwin to check the cage just to come back and attack him again. Armin went back to their bed, sniffing around and crying softly to himself. It was going to be a long night but Erwin was prepared. He had Petra and Hanji to help him with the kittens, and honestly he wanted to stay with them for as long as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAAAAAAAHH!! Uni is so freaking busy, I'm sorry for being so slow with the updating and stuff!!


	8. Eren's Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa hasn't even been gone a day and the other two kittens are already missing her, and of course Eren is taking things into his own paws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO!! I updated again! And it was soon!! YAAYAYAYAYS!!
> 
> I also found a beautiful picture of some kittens for an idea of the size of the three kittens. The colours aren't right but... sizes. Here is a picture if you wanna look. P.s. Armin is the small one :P  
> http://kandas-adventures.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341d9bdc53ef0154357789d2970c-800wi

The door shut quietly but it still managed to wake Erwin from his light sleep. And the very second he opened his tired eyes a brown ball of fluff was trying to attack his face. “Eren… please stop…” Erwin sighed, he was exhausted and covered in tiny scratch and bit marks from the kitten. It seemed that Eren had a bone to pick with Erwin and was not going to stop until the grown man was nothing more than a carcass. Frankly to say, Erwin had had enough of Eren attacking him, especially when it was just after waking. As Eren went to bite down on Erwin’s nose a large hand grabbed him, pulling him away so fast that the kitten squeaked in shock.

“Eren… I’ve had enough…” Erwin passed the small body to Hanji and moved off to the kitchen, setting the food down for the animals before climbing back into his chair to fall asleep. Leaving the animals to themselves.

Immediately, Eren began to squirm and hiss in Hanji’s jaws, “ _Put me down‼ He got rid of Mikasa so I’m gonna kill him‼_ ”

“ _Eren stop!_ ” Petra growled, “ _Erwin is clearly exhausted as it is. He probably just took Mikasa to Mike to get better._ ”

“ _Mike? Who’s Mike?!_ ”

“ _A vet that-_ ”

“ _VET?!_ ” Eren screeched, scratching viciously at Hanji to get free, “ _I’LL KILL HIM! I’LL KILL HIM FOR TAKING HER TO A VET‼_ ”

“ _Why are you so worked up about a vet?_ ”

“ _HANJI SAID THEY’RE HORRIBLE! THEY’LL KILL HER‼_ ”

Petra glance at Hanji, studying the dog carefully before Hanji dropped Eren and sprinted off with her tail between her legs. With her gone Petra picked Eren up by the scruff and carried him back to her bed, putting the kitten on her paws and speaking to him as she cleaned him, “ _Hanji is a liar. A vet is someone who looks after animals specifically. I’ve been to Mike before after I was attacked. He took good care of me._ ”

Eren growled but didn’t move, secretly enjoying being cleaned, “ _He didn’t come back with Mikasa!_ ”

“ _She’ll be back, don’t worry about it_ ,” she nudged Eren over and sniffed at his belly, “ _Just look after yourselves and please stop attacking Erwin. He’s tired enough as it is._ ”

Eren stared up a Petra, paws tucked gently under his chin, “ _When will Mikasa come home?_ ”

“ _I’m not sure Eren._ ”

“ _I miss her_.”

“ _I know you do Eren but you’ve still got Armin right? He’s worried too._ ”

“ _Armin?_ ” it took Eren a second to remember his brother, but the minute he did he was up and sprinting about trying to find him. Unfortunately he was met with silence, which only spurred Eren into a frenzy to locate the smaller kitten. He had lost Mikasa, he couldn’t lose Armin as well. “ _ARMIN! ARMIN‼_ ” he called frantically as he sprinted from room to room, searching for any sign of the golden kitten.

“ _….Eren?_ ”

The tiny squeak forced Eren to an abrupt stop outside Erwin and Levi’s bedroom door. He turned and ran in, sniffing around for Armin as he creeped out from under the bed. Eren ran over and purred, rubbing against the smaller kitten and reassuring himself that he wasn’t hurt.

“ _Why were you hiding?! I was so worried_ ,” Eren chided.

Armin shrank down, lying on the floor dejectedly, “ _Mikasa isn’t coming home is she?_ ”

“ _What?! Of course she is‼_ ”

“ _But I heard you say that the vet was going to kill her…_ ” Armin sobbed softly, ears going flat.

“ _No, no. Hanji was being stupid and made me think stupid things! Mikasa will come back home, otherwise I’ll go get her myself_ ,” Eren decided, trying to encourage Armin back to his feet, “ _Come on. Let’s go eat!_ ”

“ _…I’m not hungry Eren._ ”

“ _Get up we’re going to eat‼_ ”

Despite the demands, Armin remained cured into himself on the floor. Eren wasn’t going take any of that so he grabbed Armin by the scruff, and using all the strength he could he picked him up and carried him out to the kitchen.

Eren placed Armin down proudly, pushing him towards the bowl of meat. “ _Eat up Armin! From now on we don’t leave each other’s sides_ ,” he decided, moving by Armin to eat as well. Every now and again he glanced up to check that Armin was eating, and growling when he saw the other kitten had stopped. It was Eren who decided when they had finished eating, and then he picked up Armin and carried him back to the bed to rest.

Throughout the rest of the day Armin was carried around by Eren wherever the larger kitten wanted to go. Any time another dog or human came close to Armin, Eren would just pick him up and walk off to another corner of the room. He only became more hostel when Levi returned, spitting viciously at the man if he even so much as glanced at Armin.

“Your cat is messed up,” Levi scoffed, taking seat in his chair and turning on his dramas.

Erwin sighed, bringing Levi a drink, “I don’t know what his problem is. He was attacking me all night and when I woke up he was dragging Armin all over the place with him.” He looked back at the two to see Eren cleaning Armin as he lay crouched on the floor. “I don’t even know if they’ve eaten today, and then each time I try to feed Armin Eren runs over to attack me.”

“Do you want me to put him in the blender?”

“Levi stop it!”

“Well, have you thought that maybe the dumbass thinks that you’re going to hurt Armin?” Levi asked, looking back at them as well, “You took one cat away, I doubt he wants you to take the other one.”

“Then what about you? No that’s a dumb question, you put him in a blender.”

“Exactly. So leave them alone.”

“I can’t! I need to feed Armin.”

Levi growled, mumbling curses to himself, and got to his feet, “Fine. I’ll grab one, you grab the other okay?”

The minute Erwin and Levi began to move closer Eren was on guard. He grabbed Armin’s scruff between his jaws and slowly backed up, growling at the humans who were closing in. He waited until they were about to grab him before sprinting between Erwin’s legs, only to stumble over the Armin in his mouth and collapse not too far away. He scrambled up quickly, trying to get back and grab Armin but Erwin has already caught the gold kitten and was heading towards the kitchen.

“ _Armin! Hold on I’m coming Armin‼_ ” Eren screeched, hissing and spitting at Erwin as he chased the man. A sharp hand pulling on his tail forced Eren to scream and stop, glaring back at Levi before attacking the hand that was holding him.

“Levi!” Erwin growled, now struggling to keep Armin in his hold, “Stop that! You never pull a cat’s tail‼ Never pull it‼”

“He’s being a shitty, bratty, cat!” Levi responded, letting go of the tail, only to manage to force Eren into his cage, “I’m keeping him in here.”

“Levi no!”

“You’re too soft hearted when it comes to your animals. He’s acting like a brat so he’s going to be put in the corner!”

As Levi said he picked up the cage and put Eren in the corner, leaving the kitten to scream, claw, and cry out helplessly. He was trapped now and only Levi was going to let him out.

“…he’s in pain Levi,” Erwin whimpered, putting Armin down and heading to the cage, “He needs to be let out.”

“No!” Levi caught Erwin as he got closer, pulling him back. “He can come back out after you’ve feed the other one. That’s the whole point of this,” Levi spoke calmly, trying to get Erwin to see reason over Eren’s violent cries for freedom, “Feed Armin and then I’ll let them out.”

Again feeding Armin was a hassle. He wanted to comfort Eren and cried the whole time Erwin tried to feed him, but after a noisy ten minutes the bottle had been emptied and Levi opened the cage to finally let Eren out. The first thing Eren did was pick up Armin and run them to their bed, lying protectively over him and back on his defensive stance. The whole time Erwin watched them sadly, wanting to comfort the two but each time he got closer Eren bit down on Armin’s scruff and threatened to move again.

“Leave them,” Levi advised, taking Erwin’s hand and leading him to bed.

“Mikasa has only been gone a day… I think I’ll take them to see her,” Erwin decided, following Levi, “Maybe that will help. Let them know she’s okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all~~ I decided I can't be bothered adding in all the characters that will feature so I'll just put the ones that are featured in each chapter as I go along. Erwin and Levi will not be the only humans but that's all I'm gonna say so far :3  
> If things pop up and I decided to add in 'naughty' scenes or something I'll come back and change things around but I'll also warn in notes in case people decide to follow this *awkward laughter*


End file.
